It is also a country blighted with the cultivation and supply of opium. Home mental health issues and substance abuse posttraumatic stress disorder drug addiction in the military. Heroin addiction spreads with alarming speed across. The sumerians refer to it as hul gil, the joy plant. However, in 2004, action against the drug trade in afghanistan became very complicated, as drugs now permeated all parts of afghan politics, society and economy. As with burma, laos and afghanistan before it where the u. Pbs deserves credit, if somewhat belated, for this documentary that was released in. Afghanistan has gone into manufacturing and valueadded operations. Thousands of people become addicted to drugs every year in a. Gretchen put herself in extremely dangerous situations and went to extraordinary lengths to compile the complete history of this countrys unstoppable contribution to the worldwide and ongoing heroin epidemic. Heroin is the devil incarnate, explains one of the films participants. Afghanistan is the heroin capital of the world youtube.
The documentary follows the lives of two young boys, best friends zahir and jabar, through the streets of kabul. Heroin children of afghanistan the controversial truth. If youre looking for a way to understand the war on terror or the wars in iraq and afghanistan, and want to watch a documentary instead of reading about it, there are a few great films that give you the run down in a more realistic manner with a decent degree of accuracy. In interviewing these haunted women, the filmmakers attempt to understand the moment when the pull of addiction becomes more important than the welfare of their children. Click on the addiction documentary for a brief synopsis, then continue reading to learn more about pop cultures influence on substance abuse. Drug addicted children 2015 documentary on drug addicted. The sovietafghan war had an important impact in popular culture in the west, due to its scope, and the great number of countries involved. The sumerians would soon pass along the plant and its euphoric effects to the. In this documentary brand challenges conventional theory and practice as well as government policy in his own inimitable style, confronting the reality of addiction head on. The answer to the question he poses in his title can anyone pacify the. This is the hidden side of afghanistan, where the most vulnerable are now paying the heaviest price for the war.
The film was produced by sharron wards and directed by jawed taiman edited by jason brook. Afghanistan drug addicts volunteer in country with growing. Afghanistan is a country devastated by the horrors of war, crime, violence and poverty. Award wining documentary about the childrens drug addicted in afghanistan. Parallels afghanistan is not just a world leader in producing drugs. Afghanistan has seen a high rate of opium addiction among refugees.
An afghan village of drug addicts, from ages 10 to 60. The film exposes many reasons for this spike in addiction, one being the fact that opium and heroin have become so readily available that it is now cheaper to treat pain with these drugs than it is to buy proper medication. How i managed not to get addicted to opium in afghanistan. Jabar and zahir are two 15 year old friends, whose own sisters, mothers and fathers are also addicted to heroin and opium. The expectations were different than what i was used to. Addicted in afghanistan is an intimate and uncompromising portrayal, filmed over a year, of the day to day struggles of a new generation of children addicted to heroin, trying to find their way. Popular afghanistan war books showing 150 of 163 the kite runner paperback by. Opium throughout history the opium kings frontline pbs.
As with most parts of the world, the most vulnerable pay the heaviest price of war, and the country has faced a harrowing escalation in the number of child heroin addicts. Afghanistans child drug addicts documentary heaven. Greece festival title oi ethismenoi tou afghanistan. To help young adults understand what addiction is really like, encourage them to watch one of the best drug addiction documentaries on this list. Half way through the book, the factoids and the story line gets repetitive. Afghanistan is bordered by iran on the west, by pakistan on the east and south, and by turkmenistan, uzbekistan, and tajikistan on the north. The twopart film begins its examination with the collapse of the soviet union and the year 2000. Facing the increase in opium cultivation and its consequences on the situation in afghanistan and at home, the international community was forced to take action. Evidence of kabuls deepening heroin crisis can be found at the pulisokhta bridge, where afghans pause to reflect upon and pity those swallowed by addiction. List of books and articles about afghan history online. Afghanistan s booming heroin trade leaves trail of addiction at home this article is more than 2 years old with the countrys opium production rising by 87% on last year, a former us base in. The russianukrainian film the 9th company, for example, became a blockbuster in the former ussr earning millions of dollars and also representing a new trend in russia in which some domestic films are drawing russian audiences away from hollywood staples. Children addicted to drugs in afghanistan, drugs documentary documentary tv. This award winning documentary tells the timeless story of two addicted.
Best director of documentary award, asian first film festival, singapore 2009. Afghan society has little sympathy for those dealing with addiction, and. She had been working at a film production house and supported her. Best drug addiction documentaries to show your child.
In researching her book, ms hall surveyed 350 people who described themselves as addicted to sex, 25 per cent of whom were women. Ive been sober for nine years, and in that time ive read a lot of books about addiction. Along the way he draws on his own experience to try to help one of the addicts he meets to take the first steps towards recovery. Can the us triumph in the drug addicted war in afghanistan. Kabul disco book 2 how i managed not to get addicted to opium in afghanistan softcover trade. Afghanistans child opium addicts afghanistan news al. General readers and academic specialists will find much of value in the book, especially in terms of drug issues and the history and culture of afghanistan.
He lived under bridges in kabul or in the ruins of buildings. International documentary film festival greece 18 march 2010 thessaloniki documentary festival iceland 23 september 2010 reykjavik international film festival also known as aka original title addicted in afghanistan. Alfred mccoys important new article for tomdispatch march 30, 2010 deserves to mobilize congress for a serious revaluation of americas illconsidered military venture in afghanistan. These children will likely be born with the quivering physical effects of their bad choices. One of the many catastrophic legacies left behind by the longest war in u.
From oscarwinning and nominated works of journalism, to rock docs and popculture biographies, to emotional and thrilling examinations of society, these are the best documentaries. The book is also easily accessible for readers without a background on these topics. How i managed not to get addicted to opium in afghanistan softcover trade. Drug addiction is defined as compulsive and outofcontrol drug use, despite negative consequences. Afghanistan produces 90 percent of the worlds opium, making temptation difficult to overcome in such a. While its similar to intervention, the addicts are aware of the intervention. Addicted in afghanistan is an intimate and uncompromising portrayal, filmed over a year, of the day to day struggles of a new generation of children addicted to heroin, trying to find their way in the new afghanistan. An afghan village of drug addicts, from ages 10 to 60 npr. Few other nonfiction books have provided such an earthy, finegrained account of the human drama of drug use and abuse. This is by far the bravest book ever written about the worlds afghanistan heroin problem. Khaled hosseini goodreads author shelved 9 times as afghanistan war avg rating 4. Afghanistan has been the worlds leading illicit opium producer since 2001.
Opium is converted into heroin on an industrial scale, not in kitchens but in factories. As with most parts of the world, the most vulnerable pay the heaviest price of war, and the country has faced a harrowing escalation in. Afghanistan produces the 93% of the worlds heroin while a handful of afghan counternarcotics police are trying to stem the flow of opium and heroin. This means that afghanistan now exports not opium, but heroin. Children addicted to drugs in afghanistan, drugs documentary. Heroin addiction spreads with alarming speed across afghanistan. The opium poppy is cultivated in lower mesopotamia. The war in afghanistan has turned a generation of children. Documentary on iranian drug war on youtube losing ground. He uses the experiences of the tacps on the ground during the initial wars in afghanistan and iraq to buttress his argument.
In fact, i started reading about addiction before i got soberperhaps because something in the very back of my mind was telling me that someday these books about addiction would be quite relevant to my life. Afghanistan s opium poppy production goes into more than 90% of heroin worldwide. Can the us triumph in the drugaddicted war in afghanistan. Afghanistan remains infamous as an exporter of opium.
Addicted in afghanistan is an intimate observational featurelength documentary that explores the heartbreaking. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books. In the last few decades, drug addiction has increased exponentially in pakistan. In afghanistan, mother has her own approach to helping drug addicts. Those interested in illicit networks, the intricacies of the afghanistan insurgency, or the complexities of the afghanistan pakistan relationship will also find this book fascinating. My brother was a heroin addict and died 3 years ago and this show has helped me understand the power of an addiction. Afghanistan produces 90% of all opiate drugs in the world, but until recently was not a major consumer. Number of drug addicts in iran doubles in six years. Kabul, afghanistan raheem rejaey was a drug addict for 17 years. Most of the illegal drugs come from the neighbouring afghanistan. Now, out of a population of 35 million, more than a million are addicted to drugs.
Special reports cocaine, conspiracy theories and the cia. The governments of afghanistan, pakistan, and iran are corrupted, drugs are passing borders in large quantity, the taliban are using the drugs as a main effort to finance their operations. Gawkers above, death below in kabul the new york times. This awardwinning documentary tells the timeless story of two addicted. Afghanistan has over a million drug addicts, many of them children. The really awesome part about most documentaries is that they were first inspired by groundbreaking books. The number of afghans addicted to opium and other drugs has soared 60% since 2009 to as many as 1. In 2007, brothers of kabul, his television documentary about heroin addiction in afghanistan, produced with photographer stephen dupont, received australias walkley award for best television news feature, and in 2011, his documentary about a firstgrade class near ground zero, the class of 911, led off pbs newshours 10th anniversary coverage.
582 1464 85 512 1219 1340 1375 1334 1002 1153 78 1243 690 463 340 907 428 550 406 1339 469 802 729 149 1415 547 1010 370 885 757 1179